The Stranger
by immortalpen
Summary: Still recovering from the loss of her twin, a small town girl finds her life turned upside down when a stranger arrives in town claiming to have known him. (Loosely based on The Guest 2014)
1. Chapter 1

The dry desert air ran along her arm and up into her hair, the sun warming her arm as she leaned on the open window, the desert streaked past on all sides. A vision of golden tundra and blue sky as far as the eye could see. In the rear-view mirror, she left dust in her wake as she travelled along the road, the only lonely dot in an empty sea of sand.

The radio played the cassette that had been in there for years, the cassette that had always been in there. The cassette that he had made.

" _The word that would best describe this feeling would be, 'Haunted'  
I touch the clothes you left behind  
That still retain your shape and lines, still haunted"_

Signs of civilisation were beginning to appear. Distant houses dotting the horizon, mail boxes lining the road, shops gradually appearing, and suddenly, she was driving along main street. The bustling town around her was as familiar as always. The same hardware store, same bank, same diner with the same old men sat outside. And she was still here, among them all, except... she wasn't the same.

She drove through town, and headed to the diner she worked at on the outskirts. It was popular with truckers and other people passing through. It had that vibe, transient, temporary, and it suited her just now, she realised as she pulled up outside and opened her car door, grabbing her handbag off the seat next to her and lowering her boots to the red hard packed sand. She noticed a Greyhound pulling in as she walked toward the low, squat building. Another group passing through. Reaching the front step she reached into her bag, checking her watch for the time, pulled out a last cigarette before her shift started.

She lit up, inhaling deeply as she watched people file off the bus. Most seemed like they were on their way somewhere else. Teenage runways in hoodies, shadow smudged eyes and a desperate look. Mothers with screaming children, looked exhausted and harassed. She felt a prickling on her arms, that insidious feeling of being watched, and glanced to the other side f the bus, where the driver was handing down luggage.

He wasn't all that tall though taller than her, certainly. Solidly built, in fact she'd be willing to bet that the muscled forearms, which were all she could see, were just the beginning. He was wearing a grey t-shirt, with a light zip up jacket over it, jeans and aviators hanging from the v on his chest.

And he was watching her.

Unperturbed she held his gaze as she drew on the last of her cigarette. His dirty blond head glinted off the dazzling desert sun, cut in a way that was vaguely familiar, short back and sides, cropped close, a little grown out, but still neat. His eyes were a blazing blue in a face of stubble and tan flashing white teeth.

She wondered what kind of picture she made, to someone from the real world, the world outside the desert and this backward town.

Standing in front of the white picket diner, her electric blue dress shirt dress riding high up her thighs, her curved apron, neon yellow, sitting snugly around her narrow waist, tumbling blond curls pulled into a bouncing pony tail. Her black nail varnish a constant complaint from her boss, the only thing giving any indication that she wasn't this small town girl, this no one, with nothing and no one to look forward to... except that she was exactly that.

She narrowed her eyes as smoke drifted into them, and stubbed out her cigarette. Casting the stranger and his inquisitive gaze a last glance, she turned and went into the diner for her 8 hour shift.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Elizabeth Forbes hadn't meant to let he daughter lose her way, she hadn't meant for her family to fall apart... she hadn't meant for a lot of things to happen.

She hadn't meant for her son to die in a wretched war so far from home.

As she stared at the young man sitting before her. His erect posture his perfectly placed arms, it was as if Matt was sitting right across from her again. She realised she hadn't spoken in a while, and brought her attention back to his words.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said, forcing herself to concentrate.

"I said that Matthew and I were close... we served in the same unit for almost 2 years" his voice was cultured, well mannered, and she found her head nodding along to the things he said.

"I was with him... when he passed..." the voice continued and she felt the wrap around her heart like a steal palm. She stared at him, tears starting to drip down her cheeks, even as she dashed them away in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, really... I'm -"

"Please, don't apologise.. I should have called before coming here... I didn't mean to upset you." he said, pausing a long moment, before making to stand.

"I should go... perhaps I can leave you my email-"

"No! Please... I'm sorry, it's just a lot.. but I want to speak to you, about... him. Please" she said, her desperation written on her face. He inspected her a moment before sitting with a decisive nod.

"Ok Ma'am whatever you want" he said, a smile appearing on his rugged features. She smiled back, as a well of questions for him sprang up inside her. He reached into his back pocket and pulled a photograph.

"Here, this is us together... last year" he said, and she gripped it tightly, the sight of Matt, her dearest boy standing in a desert, which could have been home, if not for his army fatigues, and semi automatic weapon, held casually against his chest, and right beside him, his arm slung around her son's shoulders, was the man sitting before her.

"What was it like there?" she asked, and settled back, letting her mind drift to distant places, feeling all the while as though her very own little boy, grown into a man was sitting across from her.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Caroline tugged at the elastic holding her hair and let the heavy mass fall onto her shoulders, which had never been tighter. Outside was now dark, another day gone, another day closer to death, she thought grimly, and what did she have to show for it? She sat in the driveway of the house she still shared with her mother, the only she had shared with her father and twin brother, not so long ago, before everything had changed.

She put her fingers to her temples and tried to massage some blood into her head, rid herself of the tension and tiredness that surrounded her like a fog. Slowly, moving with great effort she wrenched open the car door and stepped out onto the gravel.

The night felt alive around her, the insects chirping away, the night sky brilliant with stars. This far out, isolated as her house way, nature was undisturbed in it's symphony. She shut the door, the human noise in the wilderness and crunched her way toward her house.

Stepping inside, she slipped off the heavy boots she wore, her sartorial protest against the girlie waitress uniform, and stripped her long over the knee socks off, stuffing them into the boots. Lowering her bag from her shoulder, she walked along the hall, surprised to hear the tinkle of cutlery and glasses from the kitchen. It was so normal, such an everyday domestic normalcy that she felt the emptiness of the house even more keenly somehow. Wandering into the kitchen, she wondered what had finally inspired her mother to cook, and stilled in her stride as she saw the familiar broad shoulders and narrow waist from earlier. Her stranger.

"Caroline!" her mother exclaimed, turning from the stove, a glass of wine in hand, and a genuinely happy smile on her lips, something Caroline hadn't seen in longer than she could remember. She crossed her arms over her chest as she regarded the man who had slowly turned to face her, adopting a casual pose, leaning against the sink, his legs crossed at the ankle, the picture of ease, if not for the fact that something about him, some energy he gave gave her the impression this guy was not as relaxed as he looked.

"This is Nik... he is... was... Matt's friend." her mother was saying as the man, Nik, pushed himself off the stove and came over to meet her, holding a hand out, as she simply stared at him.

"You knew my brother?" she asked her arms firmly crossed over her chest as she watched his hand hover in the air before lowering unshaken to his side.

"Yes Ma'am, indeed I did" he asked, his southern accent dripping.

"Ma'am, seriously?" she asked, and ignored her mother's warning look. He grinned down at her, rocking back on his heels at her reprimand before conceding it.

"Habit." he clarified. She accepted it as an apology and nodded, stepping past him toward the hallway, glancing back as she reached the shadowy recesses.

"Are you staying for dinner?" she asked, and saw as he and her mother exchanged a look.

"Actually, I've told Nik he can stay for a while... until he gets settled again" her mother sounded nervous as she spoke, and Caroline knew why. Small town like theirs, no other men in the house, it was how gossip got started.

She ignored the intent blue gaze that blasted her from the side, though the urge to turn her head and meet it, get lost in it was almost overwhelming.

"Where is he going to sleep?" she asked curtly, and saw her mother stiffen with defensiveness.

"I thought he could sleep in Matt's room... it isn't as though anyone is using it" her mother whispered, her voice becoming more defeated before she trailed off. She stared in shock at her, for even suggesting it. The room had been untouched, and he knew her mother went in there at least once a day. The thought of this perfect stranger, with his square jaw and tan, his effortless, bursting vitality was abhorrent for a moment, until she noticed the tremor in her mothers hand, the wine swaying with it.

She wasn't telling her, she realised, she was asking permission. Asking her 21 year old daughter permission, so upended had their roles become in this house. Caroline was fully prepared to refuse, send this stranger away, after all, who knew who he was, he could be a liar... he could be anybody. And yet, if he wasn't she could see the way her mother had already opened up to something he had flat out refused to do before, make any changes to Matt's room.

She was aware of the stranger's eyes on her, Nik. His head slightly tilted to the side he watched her closely, and she had the impression that there wasn't much he missed.

Making an impulsive decision, she turned to meet that speculative gaze.

"Fine, just for a couple of days" She said, folding her arms across her chest again, ignoring the way his eyes dipped, dropped down over her at the movement, and the way it made her mouth dry up.

"Thank you, I'm looking forward to getting to know you better, Caroline. Matt always spoke so much about you" he said that charming grin turning up the corner his full lips.

"Yeah? Well, he never said anything about you" she said, flashing him a sarcastic smile, she turned on her heel and started along the hall to her room.

"Caroline, dinner?" Liz called.

"I ate at the diner" she said before she made it to her room and shut the door behind her, her heart beating strangely

Walking over to her dressing table, she stared at herself in the mirror, and saw Matt, as she always did. Twins, and she missed him, god she missed him.

She slowly unbuttoned her dress, her mind drifting to the handsome strange with the easy smile, sitting only meters away from her at the dinner table, making her mother laugh. There was something about him, maybe because he reminded her of her brother, and it was the last thing they needed. Or, it was something else, a feeling, an energy, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, or hardly even that, just a wolf... at the door, at the dinner table, in the room next to hers as the long minutes of night ticked past, thick and dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Caroline leaned on the counter top, wiped punishingly clean, cold on her forearms and stared down at the college brochure.

The pictures of the happy campus students were nauseating, she thought despairingly. Laughing, picnicking, cheerleading. It was all too painfully close to the bone.

"Well? Are you coming or what?" a harsh voice interrupted and she looked up guiltily suddenly aware that she had barely been listening to her co-worker Katherine, Kat for short, prattling on. Where Caroline had gone edgy and defiant, Kat had gone slutty. Her already short skirt was hemmed until it skimmed her panty elastic, the buttons at the front undone until a peek of red lace push up bra showed through. Where Caroline rarely bothered with make up for the stifling, sweaty 8 hour shifts, Kat went for full face slap, false eye lashes and lipstick reapplication at 20 minute intervals.

But all these difference between the girls aside, Kat had been a good friend to Caroline when Matt had died. When her tiny suffocating world had turned upside down and she had had to get out, be different, feel different, her old friends hadn't understood. They had judged her for it. But not Katherine or her friends. They didn't remind her of the past, of a life that could never be returned to and hadn't even expected her to try. In fact, Caroline as pretty sure they had no expectations of her whatsoever.

"Sure.. when is it?" she mumbled, grabbing herself a refill of coffee thick as tar and about as tasty.

"Tonight, when else… I don't know about you, but I need to let my hair down… you'll never guess what Damon did last night…" Caroline let her attention wander again as her least favourite of Kat's circle came up.

"Oh man… look what Santa brought… and I didn't even write my list yet" Kat giggled suddenly, her voice dropping a couple of levels to whisper under her breath.

"Hmm" she murmured when she sensed a lull in the flow of complaints, tearing her eyes of the college brochure to see what had inspired such praise.

"Good morning, Caroline" his voice was clipped, the accent hidden by the formality of the military last night, was clearer this morning. British, she guessed, ignoring the motion Kat was making at her, fanning herself with her hands and licking her lips off to the side. She set the magazine down and stepping reluctantly over to her new house guest.

"What a nice surprise" he murmured, setting onto a bar stool and resting his forearms on the countertop.

"Hardly, I'm sure you knew I worked here…"

"Now you mention it, your mother did mention something along those lines…" he murmured, his full mouth crinkling in a smile.

"Yeah, and the fact that I saw you yesterday, getting off the Greyhound." She reminded him, waiting a long moment as his blue eyes searched her face, his expression unfathomable, before he finally nodded.

"Of course, though I didn't know who you were then, forgive me" he said before leaning away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You have a good memory"

"Yeah, well, I think the last stranger to show up here was a couple of years ago, so, you tend to remember a new face" she muttered, her face warming a little at his scrutiny. She picked up her order pad and stared at it, her pencil hovering over it, waiting for him to order. The silence played out, and finally, her cheeks starting to blaze, she glanced up, her eyes colliding with his. Stormy skies meeting desert blue. She held that shared gaze, a long moment, longer than she meant to. But there was something there, in those hidden depths, something that pulled her in, that spoke to her, whispered her name… _Caroline…._

"So, what's good here?" his soft words jolted her out of her reverie, and she looked away, embarrassed. She her pad into her apron and busied herself sorting pepper shakers stacked behind the counter.

"I don't know… it's a diner. What do you like?" she asked, and glanced at him as his reply dragged out again, seeing a slight smirk had replaced the searching look from before.

"Why don't you surprise me… You must have your favourites, seeing as you seem to eat here a lot" he mused as she shrugged her irritation off and scribbled an order on her note pad, tearing it off decisively and spearing it on the hook for the kitchen.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, not hiding her annoyance at his insinuation.

"Nothing, it seems like your mother would love to have your cheerful presence at a meal sometime, that's all" he replied, and she felt indignation shoot up, hot and hard, at his words.

"Yeah, well, you don't know my mother, or me… I eat with her plenty. Maybe she isn't the one I'm avoiding." She said then, plastering a sarcastic smile on her face as she turned on her heel and walked to the other end of the counter to refill a regular.

What an arrogant, presumptuous ass, she fumed as she filled cup after cup and ignored the feeling of being watched from the other end of the diner.

She flitted around, keeping herself busy, and when the bell rang for his meal to be served, she let Kat take it over. Let him eat and get out of here, she thought unkindly, before hearing her name being said repeatedly.

"Yeah, Car is super smart, she's going to go to one of these, whichever she wants I suppose." She looked up to see Kat practically lying along the counter, breasts first, and Nik, or whatever he was called, holding her college brochure. She strode over, holding her hand out for the glossy paper.

"I'll take that, thanks" she said briskly, waiting for him to give it to her, and shoving it under the counter.

"Car, you are so rude… I can't believe you didn't tell me you had a house guest… I almost didn't invite him to the party tonight, which would have been so unwelcoming to a new face" Kat was giggling, and Caroline felt nerves crush down on her at the prospect.

"Maybe I didn't want you to invite him" she said bluntly, and felt again the blood rise in her cheeks as Kat laughed uneasily, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the three of them.

"She needs to work on her comic timing, I've told her countless times… deadpan is not easy to pull off" she said, her voice fading into chatter mode again, as Caroline risked glancing up at her stranger, under her lashes. He didn't seem embarrassed, in fact he was watching them both with a grin that looked rather too amused her liking. He caught her eye, his crinkling more at the sides, as Kat was called off to serve another customer.

"You don't like me much, do you?" he mused as she finally lifted her head and looked him in the eye.

"I don't know you much" she countered, leaning her hip on the counter, her head tilted to the side.

"Let's remedy that tonight" he suggested, his expression innocent as he watched her squirm.

"Let's not." She replied, straightening her shoulders, pushing down the frantic feeling that everything she said or did simply amused this guy.

"May I ask why?" he murmured, steepling his fingers on the counter, his rough stubble rasping against his fingers. She did allow herself to wonder for a moment, why did this cocky stranger bother her so much? Was it just because he was sleeping in her brother's room? Because he had managed in 2 hours to cheer her mother up more than she herself had managed in 6 months? Whatever it was, all she knew was that she'd quite like to slap him in the face and knock that cock sure grin off. Instead she leaning forward, her blonde curls tumbling forward to brush the counter top, and his tanned, muscled forearm, smiling angelically. He shifted forward at her movement, mirroring her, his blue eyes darting around her face, drinking her in.

"No" she breathed softly when she was close enough to see his dark blonde lashes resting on his cheeks. Ridiculous length for a man, she thought contemptuously as she turned on her heel and headed into the back.

Caroline had always had trouble seeing eye to eye with her mother. She had always felt as though Matt had been the favourite, the golden boy, who could do no wrong, and even went off to defend the country, and Liz had been left with Caroline.

Sure, she had tried her best to impress her, be the perfect daughter that she had wanted. Matt had been quarterback, so Caroline clawed her way to head cheerleader. Matt had dated a brilliant, popular local princess and the mayors daughter, so Caroline had dated Tyler Lockwood, the mayors son. Matt had decided to go off to the army, and Caroline had studied to get into a good college. And then Matt had died, and everything had changed.

If she was honest with herself, things had started changing before that, but she was not even half ready to start unpicking those threads. Caroline always felt as though Liz was dissatisfied with her, irritated with something she was failing at, though Caroline herself had no idea what it could be. That was before Matt had died. Since, she had become a shoulder for Liz to cry on, but the mother- daughter relationship continued to be strained.

As she arrived home that evening, stealing herself for interacting with Nik again, she opened the door and smelled wafts of pasta bathed in garlic and basil, sharp tomatoes and heard the clink of glasses and cutlery. She kicked off her boots and shuffled through to the kitchen, sure she wouldn't be able to get out of dinner again.

"Caroline!" Liz exclaimed, overly brightly, surging to her feet and coming over to her, pulling down to sit at the table.

"Nik has made dinner, it smells so good… here, eat with us, before you guys go to your party"

"Before we go to our party" she repeated, her eyes drawn to the strong back presented to her in front of the stove, the light grey t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders.

"Nik told me how you invited him, and I think that's lovely" Liz said, squeezing Caroline's hand, a gesture that had her looking at how much wine her mother had had to drink before shed gotten home.

"Isn't it just" Came that low throaty murmur from across the room, and Caroline raised her eyes to see him, that same cocky grin in place, standing over the table, an empty wine glass in hand as he poured red wine into it, before handing it to her. She slowly reached out and took it, her fingers lightly grazing hers as she did, her protests dying in her throat as his eyes seemed to expand and pull her in again, she felt locked into them, powerless for a long, blue moment.

"Cheers" he said, his eyes lowering to her glass as she lowered it to her mouth, and gently sipped the fruity red liquid. The look in his eyes, for a flicker of a moment, lingering on her lips, was so hungry she felt her mouth dry up, and she broke her eyes away and turned her back to him, setting her glass on the table, her cheeks pounding.

Dinner was excruciatingly long, as she twirled spaghetti on her fork and ate little, though it was good. Really good, she conceded. At the end of dinner, she offered to wash up, but waved off by Nik.

"Of course not. You've been working all day, I am sure Liz wants us to go and get ready for the party" He said, his voice low, even, and at his words, her mother started nodding. Caroline raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Absolutely, you two go, I'll just pop these in the dishwasher" Liz said brightly, and Caroline was mildly surprised that she had agreed so easily, almost as though it had been her idea. Was there any woman in town who wasn't susceptible to his guy's charms, she thought sourly as she collected her bag, and started through to her room.

"Don't forget your drink" Nik said, suddenly appearing at her side. She started, stepping away instinctively, before numbly reaching out and taking it, muttering thanks before she disappeared down the hall, feeling his eyes boring into her back.

Inside her room, she sat down on the edge of her bed and took a long swallow of wine. Its soothing numbness washing through her.

What the hell was it with this guy, she wondered. He had her uncomfortable, but she hardly knew why. Or she did, and couldn't quite accept it. She felt mildly afraid of him, inextricably, and drawn to him at the same time. Perhaps it was just because he was connected to Matt that he confused her, that his presence was unsettling. And yet, her heart whispered that there was something more to it than that, something more to him. Something secret, and her subconscious knew it.

Her phone beeped, drawing her from her thoughts, and she rooted through her bag for the handset. A message from Kat, reminding her to come early to help her set up. She texted back quickly and downed the last of her wine. Standing, she started to wriggle out of her tight uniform. The boss was definitely a perv, she thought as she peeled back the skin tight bodice and rolled down her knee high socks. She reached for her towel and wrapped it tightly around her, tucking it into cleavage to stay up, and then stopped in front of the mirror while debating whether or not to wash her hair. Pinning it onto the top of her head and deciding to be lazy, and left her room and started down the corridor for the bathroom.

As she reached it, she barely had time to process the closed door, the light shining from the bottom in the gloomy hall before it was opening.

Steam curled off his bare shoulders, the light from the bathroom catching the droplets of water sliding down his chest, making him glow golden. And what a chest it was, she thought numbly only realising too late she had been staring, a particular drop of water that fell from his wet hair, slid past his nipple, through the light smattering of chest hair, and lower, over his muscled stomach, past his flat navel. It was right about when she found herself wondering how low his towel was sitting, and what you even called those weird low ab muscles guys have at the sides _… down there_ , when she realised her mouth must be hanging open and jerked her eyes up.

If it was a relief that she hadn't been the only one staring, it was short lived as she took in his intense gaze, his head tilted to one side, like a wolf watches its prey, his eyes following the long line of her bare neck.

"All done" he said suddenly, moving closer to her, so close she could feel the heat emanating off his hard body, she could smell… something, she had no idea what, perhaps it was just him, but it was raw and male and felt like a kick in the gut.

She stepped back, and face flushing in the heat from the bathroom, and slid past him as soon as she could, forbidding herself from watching him walk down the hall. She slammed the door shut and leant against it, pressing her cool palms against her hot cheeks. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

She stepped outside the house, her nerves kicking in as she saw the lights of her car were already on. She took a deep breath and walked over to the driver's side. Her short black dress felt Katherine short as she came level with the window and leaned down. She hadn't dressed up for him, she told herself. And if she had, it was only to knock that condescending smirk of his face. Her hair was strewn over her shoulders, pale ribbons under the street light, her short black dress hugging her curves, low in the front, high in the hem.

"I'm driving. It's my car" She said shortly and stood back, waiting expectedly for him to get out. The door opened and he got out, his long legs, in dark denim, his impressive torso, one which she couldn't shake from behind her eyes, in a fitted dark polo.

"Just warming it up for you" he murmured, walking past her, his hand resting briefly on her lower back as he passed. She stiffened, before getting into the driver's seat.

As she sat, she felt her dress ride up, and decided to ignore it, shifting into gear and pulling away.

The dark streets passed them on either side, and as always, Matt's music played.

" _The word that would best describe this feeling would be, 'Haunted'  
I touch the clothes you left behind  
That still retain your shape and lines, still haunted"_

"I like this… it reminds me of Matt" he said as she drove too fast, goading him to say something. She slowed a little and lanced over at him.

"I didn't think you got much time to listen to music in the army" she remarked. He settled back, the tension she hadn't realised was there melting from his hands as they spread out on his thighs.

"Well, you do have down time, in the night, on watch just the two of you… you can talk, hell, you have to talk, not to go insane."

"What stuff would you talk about?" she asked, in her mind her brother, her dear, sweet Matt, leaning against some crumbling wall in some dusty town, his mouth quirked in a smile as he chatted with Nik.

"Everything, anything. Matt, you know, he could talk about anything and make it funny. We talked about the mission a lot, about home. Stuff we missed. We talked about you…" he said. They were drawing up to Kat's house, the lights blazing in the darkness ahead.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked, steering the conversation away from her.

"Some" he replied, and was opening the door before she had a chance to enquire further. Okay, she thought to herself as she reached for her bag, before her door was opening, Nik waiting there for her to step out, his hand extended. She bit back the words that she could get out of a car herself, and rested her hand in his, stepping quickly out the car. The contact of his warm fingers sent a jolt through her, a physical snap of consciousness. And she pulled her hand out of his, her eyes avoiding his, which always seemed to be on her.

"Let's go" she muttered, settling her bag on her shoulder and heading toward the house. The music, heavy electro passed over them in waves as they stepped up to the front door and knocked. She was hyper aware of him standing just at her elbow, his presence like an alarm shrieking in her ear. She shifted uncomfortably as his warm skin brushed her arm, and leapt forward as soon as the door swung open.

"Caroline! And you brought… him!" Kats over-enthusiastic cries were partially drowned out by the music as she stepped into the hallway, bathed in neon pink light. She dropped her bag on a pile and headed for the kitchen, the wine wasn't going to cut it anymore.

The kitchen was already packed, and she greeted the people she knew, resisting the urge to look back. She'd brought him to the party, it was enough, she decided, taking a swig of cool beer.

The house was packed, and it was easy to avoid her unwanted guest, as she caught up with people she hadn't seen in a while. All these people, so different from her old friends. These people smoked… smoked everything, actually, they drank and they partied hard and they didn't ask her why she sometimes wanted to disappear. And so she drank with them, as the night wore on, she caught glimpses of Nik, holding a beer in hand, chatting to people, his upright, ridged posture setting him out from the others, slouching stoners and twitching druggies. When she found him, he always seemed to meet her gaze, as though he too had been looking for her. She took a long swing of beer, watched him for a moment, before turning and disappearing into the crowd, time and again.

She didn't know what he wanted from her, why he was there. All she knew was that she felt all kinds of things around him, things she didn't want to. In fact, these days, feeling at all wasn't at the top of her wish list.

She sat in the den, and watched a spliff being passed around. Her head felt a little blurry, her tongue thick. She felt the guy next to her put his arm around her shoulders, and her head felt too heavy to hold up. She noticed Nik in the doorway, saw someone pass him the spliff. She expected him to pass on it, Mr Uptight Army Man. But he didn't. He took a long hit, inhaled it deeply, and let the smoke curl out, his eyes locked on hers. What he was saying with that look, she had no idea, but she couldn't look away. He walked over to her, and stood beside her until the guy whose shoulder she'd been resting on moved, and he sat down beside her. Her body vacillated between the closest contact they'd ever had, propelling her away, while another part drew her closer.

He passed her the spliff and she looked at him questioningly, was it some kind of test, something he could go home to Liz with, something to hold over her. As she hesitated, he gently placed it on her lip. Her eyes were locked into her, and she felt as though her heart was beating lethargically. She closed her lips around the end and inhaled. The end glowed red into the darkness, lighting his blue eyes as they stayed fastened on her mouth. She slowly exhaled, waiting for some kind of buzz to fall on her, and watched as his fascinated gaze finally pulled away, and he leant over her to hand the split to the next person, bringing the back of his neck before her face. It was smooth and tanned, and she had the oddest urge to bite it. Shaking her head to dispel the drugs and the heavy fog that seemed to have descended on her, she took a deep breath, and struggled to get up. Her hand, uncoordinated and unsteady gripped his thigh as she pushed her herself to her feet.

"Caroline, where are you going?" he asked, grabbing one of her hands as she swayed past him.

"Nowhere, wherever" she muttered, shaking off his hand and heading for the hallway, ignoring the way it was spinning before her. She walked down it, concentrating on putting one foot after the other, her hand holding on to the wall for support, before she reached her objective. The patio doors opened easily, and she slipped out, gulping down the fresh cool air of the garden, wobbling over to a stone bench in the back and dropping heavily onto it. She leaned forward and propped her head on her hands. Her head was starting to pound, and she massaged her temples, breathing as much fresh air as she could.

"Caroline?" a voice called and she stiffened, looked up warily.

"Tyler?" she asked uncertainly. Tyler Lockwood did not associate with any of the people at this party, except her, and that was all in the past.

"Christ, are you alright?" he asked as he sank down in front of her.

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you… I thought we could talk" he said, and she felt his fingers pulling her hair off the back of her neck and around the side.

"What about?" she muttered hazily, wondering idly if she was going to throw-up.

"Well… I haven't seen you around… and… I miss you" he said, and her head shot up, a movement that caused her dizziness to intensify.

"When we broke up, I thought if I gave you a little time, to figure stuff out, then we could, you know… maybe try again." He was saying, sitting beside her on the bench now as she concentrated on counting blades of grass in order not to pass out.

"I don't think that's a good idea… and you didn't have to come here, you could just have called" she said.

"I have called, you never answer your phone, I thought you were still in mourning or whatever, then I get word that you're going to parties and stuff… I guess you're not too broken up anymore" his harsh words cut through the fog in her brain, and she pushed his hand, which had been inching on to her leg away.

"You just don't get it, do you Tyler? And you never did, so just leave me alone" she whispered, feeling tears start to threaten.

"Let me take you home, you're drunk" he said, his condescending tone grating her even more.

"I believe Caroline wants you to leave" Nik's voice cut through the pounding in her head, and glanced up to see him looking over Tyler, as her ex's face was already distorting into a sneer.

"And who the fuck would you be?" he asked in an aggressive tone, standing up to stake his claim.

"A friend of the family's" Nik said, his voice unperturbed by Tyler's little display of dominance. She felt like she should warn him, say something to stop Tyler from doing something stupid and getting hurt.

"Yeah, well, I'm her boyfriend, so fuck off" Tyler said, getting in Nik's face, his hands going to his chest, where he gave him the smallest shove backwards. Nik didn't step back, only swayed slightly, before stepping to the side, while his hand went to the back of Tyler's neck, and he smashed the side of his head into the wall beside them. It was ruthlessly efficient, a crushing blow delivered without emotion, with complete precision. Caroline gave a cry, as her head shot up, seeing Nik looking coldly and dispassionately down at Tyler who was holding his head, blood seeping between his fingers as he moaned on the floor.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, standing up too fast and swaying against Nik as he appeared by her side, his arm going under her shoulders.

"Taking you home, sweetheart" he said as he started them toward the door. Caroline glanced back at Tyler, feeling as though she should be more concerned, but barely able to get enough emotion up to care.

"Caroline, can you walk?" Nik was asking, his blue gaze hovering near her face, and she felt her head shaking, before everything went black, his concerned frown the last thing she saw.

He drove them home slowly, knowing he was over the limit, even if he didn't feel it, listening to Matt's mixed tape the whole way. The orange street lamps slid fingers of colour over Caroline as she slept in the back seat, but he didn't allow himself to look. Didn't allow himself to see her pale flawless skin against the shadows, or the way her fingertips kept reaching out for something. Didn't allow himself to listen to the things she whispered in her dreams.

He pulled up to the Forbes house and shut off the engine, silence flooding into the car. He could hear her breathing in the back, even and deeply, he could hear her heart, beating strongly and the blood following through her veins. His. All his.

He pulled a phone from his pocket, and pulled up an email, quickly typing in the darkness, pausing only when her breath hitched.

 _Contact established. Target identified and mission underway. Update soon._

Sending the mail off into the ether, he got out the car and opened the back door, reaching in to gently pull her out. She was warm, and as her hand drifted around his neck, her head snuggling into the hollow between his chin and shoulder, her hair ticking his skin, he breathed her in, god, she was soft. His hand cupped her thighs as he held her close against his chest. His prize. He started toward the house with her. It did no one any good to be too sentimental now, too gentle with her, and yet, he couldn't seem to stop himself. He walked soundlessly down the silent hall and opened the door to her room. Setting down on the bed, he resisted the urge to make her more comfortable. It was important she not be scared of him, not just yet. She moaned in her sleep and he drew his arm out from behind her beck, and her eyes flickered open a moment, before closing again, a sweet smile curling the corners of her pink lips, before she slipped back into sleep.

He stood there, watching her for a long while, completely still. He envied her sleep, her dreams, her innocence. He envied it and he cherished it all at once. When she started to move in her sleep, and her short dress started to ride up, he left. Returned to his cold and empty room alone, and sat on the end of his bed, without turning on the light.

He settled into his standard sitting position, hands resting lightly on his knees, legs bent at 90 degrees, ready for action, and waited. He waited for morning, his mind slowly emptying as he did, his version of sleep slowly creeping over him as bit by bit thoughts of her smile, the blue of eyes, the sharpness of her laugh and wild sense of possession that the thoughts accompanied, slowly ebbed to a quiet need.

In that thoughtless void, he waited for morning.


End file.
